


And all the colors of the world are more vibrant

by hiraya_manawari



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Flashbacks, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Mentioned NCT hyungs, Mentioned Red Velvet Ensemble, Minhee is Jaemin's cousin, Na Jaemin-centric, Other idols are mentioned - Freeform, Pining, Some rookie girls from mystic because theyre sm subsidiary, Theater AU, Theater Production Staff, This is just straight up very very very fluffy, Veeeeery wordy writing, aespa girls and sungtaro are also here!!!, he's just so in love with Renjun but renjun remains oblivious...... or is he?, minor nohyuck, other ships are implied
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:14:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27118045
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hiraya_manawari/pseuds/hiraya_manawari
Summary: His friendship with Huang Renjun started out a little bit like this:Fallen water bottles by the stairs and tired stance at night after thinking he had met an angel. Being co-actors in the musical of a well-known theater organization in their university led them to become friends, with Jaemin harboring a crush on said co-actor. Being workmates for the next few years with bottles of Mountain Dew and microwavable food shared, and nights of arranging paperwork for the play and study dates, Jaemin's feelings refuse to wane down to simpler ones.Three years in the friendship, and Jaemin still pines, and maybe, just maybe, Renjun actually returns his feelings after working together as the leaders of their committees in the annual musical play of their organization.
Relationships: Huang Ren Jun/Na Jaemin, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	1. August

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is a renmin fic stewed in my drafts for quite a long time since the pandemic started and it is extremely based from my experiences as a theater person in university. Do note that everyone has different takes on this in my country so I hope no one gets offended with what I wrote. Also!!! Just want to say that the university is based on UP in the Philippines, so there are various food and university culture references scattered in the story.
> 
> I wanted to write this au based on my theater experience because I love that part of my life in college, and I treasure everyone who worked with me. Also, the whole story is entirely on Jaemin's POV. So here goes!

The afternoon heat fades out, the cool breeze of mid-August brushing around the campus. Na Jaemin steps out of one of the many laboratories in his college building. He shoulders his bag, smiling at friends he passes by the hallway, nodding at acquaintances who acknowledge him as well, all exiting the several classrooms lining the hallway either to go home or proceed to their next class. Having food engineering and food processing as his last classes of the day causes him to massage his temples, questioning himself why he has to suffer a semester's worth of afternoon classes of maths with food. He brushes his blonde hair away from his face, already thinking about the amount of papers he will have to deal with in his majors.

Looking at his watch, he realized that he still has a few hours to spare before the meeting for their annual musical comes around. All of the final plans, the progress of the marketing and sponsorship committees, and the final positions for the artistics committees will be presented to everyone. He is somewhat nervous on who his final co-workers as head stage manager will be, hoping that the younger members of the organization will be easy to work with and at the same time very welcoming towards the actors.

It was established already that Renjun will be the Set and Props Committee head, Jeno is head of the Finance Committee, and Donghyuck will be leading the Music Committee after working with the other playwrights. He already knows that Jungwoo, together with Jisung and and Yizhuo, will be working with him.

He hopes that the four of them will be able to work properly with each other and have minimal conflicts. He sighs, already feeling the stress to come for the next few months, all the conflicts and the disagreements and the straight-up fights looming for the next few weeks. He just hopes that unlike the previous years, there would be no physical fights. Putting his backpack on one shoulder while walking, he rummaged around for his phone, finding it inside one of the smaller pockets of his bag. 

His phone has numerous notifications, and swiping on his phone screen, he entered the password and looked at his group chat with his friends from the organization. It was Donghyuck inviting them for dinner before going to the meeting. He backreads, and only Jeno and Hina agreed, with Renjun saying he has class until 6 pm and Yangyang, Shotaro, Aeri, Suhyun, and Jimin still not seeing the messages.

The frown kaomojis the others sent Renjun made him smile. He typed a reply, asking them where they are so he can still join them after dropping his bag in his apartment that he shares with his cousin. He then proceeded to walk home, passing by the cars and jeeps that go the other direction.

It’s his third year being a member of this theater organization, and even if the process of doing the production was quite taxing mentally, physically, and academically, the feeling of fulfillment in finishing everything and presenting it without a hitch was equal to the feeling of submitting his final requirement in one of his major classes. The Kwangya Theater Company, one of the well-known college theater organizations in the region, was established quite a long time ago, and since then, the hard-earned reputation of their predecessors is something they hold onto with pride. It is one of the prominent organizations in their university, with progressive stance and not afraid to call out the wrongs of the government and the system.

The Kwangya Theater Company was established during the 1980s, and the executive committee of the organization was like a normal one: a president, vice president which also works as the membership committee head, secretary, education committee head, publicity committee head, finance committee head, and a position unique to cultural organizations, which was the production manager.

This year, the president of their company is Ko Eun, with Kim Jungwoo as her vice president and Mark Lee as her production manager. Koeun was quite a force to be reckoned with, with Mark and Jungwoo at her sides, which was why all their upperclassmen who graduated and worked with the trio were quite excited about what the company plans to show this year. Jaemin himself was part of the executive committee, leading the education committee. The other positions were occupied by Jeno for finance, Yeri for publicity, and Guanheng as secretary.

He remembers that Mark and Koeun often have disagreements (although Renjun, Donghyuck, and Yangyang agree that the two just have unresolved tension, sexual or romantic, he did not like to know, with them being the little shits) on how to run the production staff, and Jungwoo and Lucas have to step in to dissipate the fight. He expects that today will be just like one of those days, what with them having to present the concept for the show as well as the progress of several committees.

Another sigh escaped his lips, already feeling tired just thinking of the meeting later. For what it's worth, Mark and Koeun deal with each other better recently, especially the weeks before the start of classes. He felt his phone vibrate, indicating a text message from someone. 

[Chocoball]

Nana~ we’re at Hanarose! What do you wanna eat? 

We’re gonna order for you so that you can already eat when you arrive here.

Hina is already complaining, she wants dessert too. (ᗒᗩᗕ)

[Nana]

Okiiii. I’ll get 2 pcs sizzling burger steak.

And buko pandan. :]

Tell Hina we’re gonna buy oreo cheesecake cookies at Micha’s later. Renjun was complaining two days ago that he wants it too.

[Chocoball]

You and your shared sweet teeth. You’re whipped. (๑¯◡¯๑) Gotchaaaa, see ya Nana!

He chuckles on the exchange between him and Donghyuck, ignoring the implication of the text message, pocketing his phone to walk home a bit faster. Upon arriving at the apartment complex, he spared a glance at Renjun's door. While walking past Renjun’s room, he fished his keys out of the larger pocket of his bag. He grabbed ahold of it once he arrived at his door.

He decided to check if his cousin left it unlocked, and upon finding that it wasn't, he inserted the key and twisted it open. “I’m home! Minhee, you there?” He heard a grunt from his right side, finding the former situated in the living room and since he couldn't see the tuft of jet black hair, he decided that the other was sitting on the floor. 

He strides towards his cousin, finding that his deductions were right. “Whatcha doing there? Math?” His cousin nods his head, looking at Jaemin with a pout. “Hyung, help me. I hate Math. Why did I even take industrial engineering again? It’s too early in the semester and the prof already gave an assignment.” 

He laughs at his cousin, ruffling his hair as he goes to his room to drop his bag and change to a string bag. “Because that’s the course you got in when you passed the entrance exam, dummy. I’ll help you later, when I get home, although that will be quite later tonight,” he replied with a small frown. “Make sure you eat, okay. Invite some of your blockmates to dinner or something.”

Minhee groaned, “yes hyung. Don’t worry. Some of my blockmates arranged for a block dinner, which is why I’m doing this already.” 

Jaemin hummed, throwing an okay sign at his cousin while putting his wallet, phone, org notebook, and other necessary materials in his bag. “I’ll be eating dinner with my friends tonight, so that’s good that you have a dinner appointment already. I’ll look for my math notes when I get home. It’s not the deadline tomorrow right?” 

Minhee shakes his head no, then proceeds to focus back on the derivation of trigonometric functions. “Take care, hyung.” 

He hummed again in affirmation, “I’ll text you if I’ll be too late out tonight.” He wears his string bag again after rechecking the contents and the amount of money he brings. He calls his cousin one last time but did not wait for a reply. He whips his phone again to text Donghyuck that he is on his way to the eatery.

It is the first week of classes so the streets are hustling and bustling with people. He observes as he walks leisurely, a long line of students at the supplies store, several stalls selling different types of street food and samalamig or fruit shakes, which caused him to chuckle on a certain memory, remembering that some of these stalls tested positive for contaminated food in his food micro class. _Oh well, it’s still tasty anyway_ , he thinks to himself. Jaemin arrives at Hanarose after a few minutes of walking, not checking his phone for a reply.

Jaemin took in the homely appearance of Hanarose. Various tables and chairs on separate placements beside the walls to make a path towards the back, where larger tables are seen. He hears the chatter of the people around him, of some staff shouting the orders to their co-workers, of friends catching up with each other after two months of vacation, of some lone students eating quietly and browsing through their phone. _It is still good to be back, even if I’m kinda dreading this semester already,_ he thinks to himself, maneuvering himself to reach the long tables at the back of the eatery. 

His eyes widen in surprise when he sees all his friends sitting at the back, even Renjun who said that he won’t be there. Hina grins widely at seeing Jaemin, waving at him as he slowly approaches nearer. Their other friends looked up and grinned as well, counting to three and then singing the Happy Birthday song to him. Jeno lights up the candles while the rest of their friends sway their torso from side to side while clapping and singing.

The blond’s smile widens into a grin, with his eyes crinkling and cheeks puffing as he watches the scene. The others laugh fondly at Jaemin’s expression as Chenle records everything in his phone. "Happy 21st Birthday, our dear Minnie," his friends chorused, with Renjun and Donghyuck doing their goofy runs and harmonizing, which caused laughter in their group.

“Even the kids are here! What?” Jaemin exclaimed, releasing the bubble of happiness he feels through laughter. He turned to Renjun, “and you, you said you have class until 6! What are you doing here?” Then he each pointed at Yangyang, Shotaro, Aeri, and Jimin," and you guys did not even reply in the group chat!"

Renjun shakes his head at Jaemin's reaction, "it's the kids' idea, actually. We were never able to celebrate your birthday since we started uni, so Sungkyung and Jisung wanted to celebrate it. Chenle and Minjeong just crave Mernel's chocolate cake. So we decided to kill two birds with one stone. Sungchan couldn't make it since he's still in a bus to go back here though. Yizhuo just arrived and she's fixing her place so she also couldn't come." 

Jaemin snorts at that, sitting beside Renjun who scoots towards Jimin to give Jaemin some sitting space. He removes his string bag and places it on his lap, making grabby hands at his food which Sungkyung reached to hand to him, pinching her cheeks as she hands the food.

The chatter around their table returns as he begins to eat, the rest of them waiting for him to finish before eating the cake even though Chenle keeps on swiping the chocolate icing that stuck on the cake box. Renjun reaches out to smack Chenle's hand, which seems to happen repeatedly with the pout the black haired boy gives Renjun who just rolled his eyes and the soft chuckle Jisung releases.

Sungkyung begins to converse with the Minjeong and the two youngest boys, talking about their vacations in different places. The rest of his same-age friends seems to be talking about the torture and heavy load of their academic requirements for the coming months. Shotaro and Aeri seems to be talking about a new anime released that month, and he slightly feels envy since they don't even need subtitles. Renjun just sits beside him, chin propped up on his left hand, a hint of his dimple showing because of the smile he has while watching their friends, and he averts his eyes when the brunet's gaze rests on Jaemin. He wonders if the dimple will be deeper if he decides to poke it.

"Hey," he calls out to his friends after swallowing his last spoonful of food, and receives some hums and tilts of head in return, "thank you for this. I'm so happy to have met you all. I'm glad I get to work with you and suffer the next few months with the rest of KTC. I’m kinda bummed you did not order my buko pandan though." And really, he wishes he has his camera with him, because the smiles and grins he receives is something worth being permanent about. 

"It's time for the cake! Yeeeeees!" Chenle's loud voice and Minjeong's cheers reverberates in the eatery, which caused them some looks from the other customers, while Renjun places the dark-haired boy in a chokehold and Jimin plasters her hand on the younger girl's mouth to muffle out their noises. Jeno turns to him, his auburn hair glistening in the artificial light of Hanarose. "Don't buy oreo cheesecake cookies anymore. Don't want you to develop illnesses in your quarter life, yeah?" Jaemin snorts at the statement, taking another piece of his chocolate cake slice and shoving it to his mouth, savoring the chocolate-y taste.

His friendship with Huang Renjun started out a little bit like this:

He was a freshman, wide-eyed and no friends aside from his best friend Jeno who thankfully passed in the same university as him. He entered the university with excitement, curiosity on his course that combines agriculture, food, maths, and hard sciences in what he now knows as quite the torture device. They were the only ones who entered this campus, their other high school friends going different ways like them.

Jeno and Jaemin decided to be roommates for their first year for some semblance of familiarity and home, being best friends ever since they were 13 and Jaemin accidentally kicked his school shoe early in the morning that landed on Jeno's head, leading to laughter from their classmates and teacher and Jeno chasing Jaemin around the classroom to return the favor. Since the two of them are practically family, attending the campus tour at 6 am in the morning was quite an easy feat to do, able to function in the morning even with the lack of sleep after marathoning Hyouka in Jeno's laptop.

However, they were forced to separate, being in different colleges and courses. Jeno went with his Computer Science blockmates, while Jaemin went with his Food Technology blockmates. The two agreed to have lunch after the predictably tiring morning, meeting at the Student Union building and deciding where to go from there.

The Campus Tour was an extremely tiring activity for someone not physically fit, since they have to travel by foot around the area. They started in front of the Student Union building at Freedom Park, called as such because of its vast expanse of greenery and one is free to do whatever, as long as it is legal.

Their major subjects are taken in their institute's building, lovingly called FoodSci. Pre-requisite subjects and GE courses are taken around the College of Arts and Sciences, and they also went there. Plant nurseries and gardens dotted around the campus, used majorly by agriculture students. PE classes were taken in the Copeland Gym or the Baker Hall.

Jaemin did not pay much attention to the other buildings since the guides told them that they rarely have classes in that area, only for GEs or PEs. It took him 4 hours, Jaemin's empty water flask, an open umbrella, and a try-hard picture with the rest of his companions before he can finally get the rest of the day as free time. He already knew the buildings of some of his classes anyway, having searched with Jeno a few days prior to the tour.

He whipped up his phone to text Jeno that he already finished, and is waiting at a table near the restrooms. While waiting there and playing around on his phone, someone approached his table. A boy, maybe a little bit shorter than him, with vibrant red hair and three moles on his left cheek and a cheeky smile, seems to have quite the sunny disposition until the redhead stopped at the other side of the table, smiling shyly at him.

"Hello, are you sharing the table with anyone? Is it okay if I sit here for a while? I'm just waiting for my friend to finish with his tour, and well," at this he sweeps his arm away from him, gesturing towards the rest of the canteen area and Jaemin looks around as well, "all the seats are occupied."

Jaemin gave the stranger a small smile, shaking his head and allowing the other to sit in front of him. At that, his phone lights up again, indicating a text message, hopefully from Jeno. He decided to ignore the stifling silence between him and the redhead stranger and typed a reply for Jeno. That was until the stranger spoke again, clearly trying to befriend him.

"Are you a freshman too? What's your course?" The redhead inquired, tilting his head to the side.

Jaemin knows the other is trying to make small talk to avoid the awkwardness, _and who knows, maybe he'll become a close friend in the future_. He answered, "yep. I'm a food tech student. How about you?"

The other replied with Development Communication, reaching his hand out for a handshake and introducing himself as Lee Donghyuck. He introduced himself in return, and heard someone call Donghyuck's name. He looked over the redhead's shoulder and saw a boy with black hair and big eyes repeatedly calling Donghyuck.

Donghyuck turned around and waved at his friend, gesturing at him to wait. The other went over to their table, stopping a few steps away, watching as Donghyuck bowed to Jaemin and said, "it was nice to meet you, Jaemin. Well, see you around!"

He smiled and replied in return, hand raised in a small wave, watching the two friends walk away, averting his gaze when the black-haired boy turned his head and glanced at Jaemin. _Donghyuck’s friend is cute_ , he thinks, but immediately squashed the thought, knowing that there is a very slim chance of meeting and befriending him.

He fiddled with his phone again, opening his social media to browse while waiting for Jeno to arrive, and not a few minutes later, he felt someone tapping at his back. He stood up without looking, already knowing that it was his friend, and shouldered his bag, turning around and saying to Jeno, "let's go, it's too noisy here.” His best friend just gave him his signature eye smile, and it won’t be long before Jeno charmed the majority of his classmates and even professors, nodding like a puppy and asking where they should eat lunch.

A few days later, Jaemin’s last class for the day was finished after the professor introduced the subject, explained the class regulations, and checked the attendance, and he was so out of it that he barely noticed his backpack still open and his water bottle on the verge of falling from the side.

He never expected that having a GE class, which was college english, after chemistry would drain him so much, but perhaps it was also because he was still not used to his schedule. There were only a few people left inside the classroom when he sluggishly packed his things, with the other one being their professor.

With their classroom being at the basement of the building, the sky slowly turning dark, and the hunger he feels since he had no long breaks for the day, he already lost focus and care for everything. He was thankful that after this first week he can have more free time because he did not have to walk around and look for some of his classrooms.

The building seemed to lose life because of the lack of people in it, and again, it's the basement, where rumors of a lady walking around its halls even during class hours flit in the ears of freshmen like himself. He did not even notice his water bottle falling from his bag, and ignored the fast footsteps catching up to him.

He was removed from his tired stupor when someone called out to him. He looked around, realizing that he was still standing on the stairs, a few steps up before reaching the floor to the exit, and that beside him is actually a wall. Sluggishly turning around, not entirely caring about his image at the moment, Jaemin tilted his head down and was met with the cute guy with black hair and big eyes, who was friends with the redhead he shared his table with but he did not know it at the time, at the lower steps of the stairs.

_He seems familiar_ , he thought, as the boy with black Jansport bag and wearing a blue plaid shirt and white pants looked up towards him. He hummed in reply, still a bit dazed, _because wow the lighting hits him just right he looks like an angel AAAAAAAAAA_ and all the mini-Jaemins in his head started to be flustered and malfunction at the same time.

"Ummm, are you alright?" 

_God even his voice is angelic what the heck._ Jaemin snapped out of his stupor and focused his gaze at the brunet, nodding his head then shaking it. "Yes, I'm alright, just tired and hungry. Is there anything you need?"

The other guy had a water bottle held up in his hand, and his eyes seemed to widen a bit. "Your backpack is open, and your water bottle fell out."

"Oh. Well. Ummm. Let's go up?"

The other guy caught up with him, climbing two steps at a time. Once they reached the floor, it was deserted except for the faint whistling they heard in the distance. It seemed that they were the only ones left inside the building, along with the staff designated to close it.

The other boy reached his water bottle towards him again, and Jaemin reached to get it back, then thanked the other for returning his things and pointing out the state of his bag. The other boy still has an inquisitive look in him, as if he still had questions about Jaemin. As he adjusted his bag to place the water bottle back to its place and zip the bag shut, the angelic boy spoke up.

"Na Jaemin, right?"

"Yes. And you are?"

The boy tilted his head towards him, regarding him with curiosity, as if Jaemin hid the secrets of the universe in his bag. "Huang Renjun."

Their little group ended up staying in Hanarose for an hour and a half, just talking and eating the Mernel's cake that Jimin and Aeri bought. He was quite surprised that they bought and ate the cake, knowing their aversion to sweets, the former due to her lactose intolerance while the latter due to her current diet regime.

He shrugs it off, just enjoying the company of his friends before they become too busy doing academic work, their duties for their organization, and the production. There is a collective sound from their phones, indicating a text message sent to all of them and the younger ones in their group let out collective groans, with Sungkyung leaning on Hina who ruffled the younger's short hair and the older ones letting out chuckles, used at the calls and messages from KTC heads the past two years.

“We better go now. The distribution of committee members and introduction of the committee heads will be long, and knowing Koeun and Mark, there will be a lot of bickering. I just hope they do better now compared to the last meeting before the kids entered the org.” Yangyang browses his phone as he says this, addressed to the four younger ones in their group. They walk out of Hanarose, proceeding to walk to the Umali auditorium, which was the “home” of their org, and where they conduct their meetings and rehearsals.

Jeno groans, “Ugh, don’t remind me, the last executive committee was so tiring but I don’t know what happened since in the last committee heads meeting they’re actually tolerable. Well, Jungwoo, Lucas, and Yeri were there after all.” 

Donghyuck hums, “now that I think about it, that’s true. Jaemin, what do you think?”

Jaemin tilts his head towards Donghyuck, and the rest of their friends lean towards him, curious about the latest gossip within their org. With the fact that Jeno and he are directly working together with Koeun and Mark, he guesses that his opinion is something worth hearing about.

“They’re getting along now, Hyuckie. Jeno was not present at the most recent meeting of the exec committee because of the flu. They were not bickering when we last held a meeting about the other prospective stage managers. I honestly wonder what happened to them during midyear that caused them to work together properly. I think Wendy-noona and Johnny-hyung slapped some sense at them. They’re actually scary to work with now, because they’re so efficient together.”

Suhyun laughs, “that’s true! In the logistics committee, whenever Mark forgets to ask for updates, it’s Koeun who asks. They thank each other now, they’re not at each other’s throats, but they barely address each other, unless needed.” Jimin nods her head in agreement, also being in the Logistics committee.

Renjun just smirked, as if he knows something they don’t, which went unnoticed by their friends except him. Jaemin realizes that Renjun also took midyear classes so he constantly sees the other two, turning his head to look at his friend. The two of them made eye contact, with Renjun mouthing _I’ll tell you later_ at him, which causes him to discreetly nod.

They arrive at the auditorium one hour before the meeting, and the content sighs Donghyuck and Chenle release can be felt by their whole group. They are home. Their second home in this university with its unfair and bureaucratic ways, is this tall imposing building that was dedicated to theater performances and built as their organization's home.

Warm orange lights vibrantly light up the hall leading to the entrance of the auditorium. Colorful and lively paintings are displayed on its walls. Two pairs of doors on opposite sides as entrances to the audi are made of cherry wood. Inside, plush red velvet seats and carpeting surround the floor.

The tech booth where the lights and sounds ( _magic!_ Yangyang would say) happen, is located at the far back of the auditorium while stairs line up the sides and middle of the room. The stage, which is the farthest from the entrance, still has that foreboding presence that can be felt even by those at the entrance. Its wooden structure is newly polished, and is in good condition. The orchestra pit located just below the stage is empty of instruments or equipment, and is simply an empty space at the moment. The audi still has that creepy vibe going on with it, and with the dozens of experiences ( _ghost stories!_ Renjun would say) their seniors told him, it will be high time before Jaemin will experience it himself.

They spend the time catching up with Jungwoo and Koeun who are already at the hall and preparing the presentation for their activities for the semester, and slowly, the rest of the members arrive. Mark, who arrived after them, Koeun, and Jungwoo left to prepare everything at the pit 30 minutes before the meeting begins.

The meeting was set to be held on the pit, with the rest of the members sitting on the stage. While the rest of his friends catch up with the other members of their org backstage, he simply decides to settle down and just sit on one of the many seats of the auditorium and relish in the relative silence of the whole area. He listens to the pleasant chatter and laughter caused by his orgmates, his family in the university, and really, he's glad he met them and did all the work with them.

He would always look up and peek at the huge doors to see who arrived, and when it was Sungchan and Yizhuo, he got up and hugged the taller boy and the gave the youngest a bear hug. Sungchan and Yizhuo sheepishly apologized for missing his birthday dinner, and he dismissed it, saying that it was a suprise for him as well. He also tells the younger two that their portions of the cake are kept by Sungkyung, the most trustworthy of the youngest sextet. 

He heard Koeun's voice resound in the whole auditorium, calling everyone to gather at the stage. Mark complains at the brunette's loud voice and she glares back, a challenging glint in her eyes. Their members slowly trickle towards the stage while Jaemin descends the stairs to reach the stage. The blond just enjoys the show their two leaders are putting up. The brunette crosses her arms while Mark deepens his frown.

"Okaaaaaaay, we know you love to eye-fuck each other, and really, we will let you continue if we have the time to, but that's not our priority now, is it?" Jungwoo interrupts, which caused a lot of chuckles and giggles from the body and red faces from the two parties involved.

Koeun clears her throat, Mark looks away still with the blush, and Renjun snickers loudly, which gained the attention of the two. Mark sends a pointed look at Renjun, as if begging him not to reveal anything to their friends. Koeun simply glares at the other.

Renjun merely shrugs and makes a zipping motion on his mouth. Jaemin watches this all unfold and shakes his head at his friend's antics. He prepares himself for the questions, knowing that the initial calendar he prepared as the head stage manager can be subject to questions from the others.

The meeting proceeds smoothly, with Mark presenting the plot for that year's musical. The playwrights, which include Mark, Lucas, Dejun, Hina, and Jimin, are distributed to the rest of the other committees while Mark assumes his production manager position.

Koeun is the artistic director which focuses mainly on the acting and characterization, with Hina as her assistant director. Donghyuck will be the musical director, which is more focused on the musical and emotional aspect of the production, and Yangyang as the technical director, which involves the lighting and sounds, as well as the overall mood color per scene. 

Jaemin will be the head stage manager, and working with him are Yizhuo, Jungwoo, and Jisung and he thinks that 4 stage managers are good enough to work with.

Renjun will be leading the Set and Props Committee with Guanheng; Chenle the Music Committee with Dejun; Lights and Sounds will be handled by Hyejin and Aeri; Herin and Minjeong will be leading the Costume and Make-up Committee; Shotaro and Sungchan for the Choreography Committee; the Publicity Committee is led by Yeri and Sungkyung; while Jeno leads the Finance committee with Lucas and Jimin who are both finished with playwright work; and lastly, the Marketing and Sponsorship Committee is led by Soomin and Sooah, with Haram and Tsuki assisting them.

The rest of the org members are distributed to the other committees requiring more manpower, particularly Set and Props, Finance, Music, Costume & Make-up, and Sponsorship & Marketing, depending on their skills and interests to work in that committee.

The plotline was already decided last semester, during their last meeting of the year when the new executive committee assumed the positions, while the playwrights wrote all the scenes during midyear. It was also the time when Jaemin started formulating the calendar for the stage managers.

After the distribution of members, Mark started to show the whole production calendar in terms of the artistic side of the production. Jaemin prepares himself, already knowing that some of the members will be asking some questions later, especially on the rationality of the dates. This goes to the other heads of the committee, and even if the org members are basically his family in the university, Jaemin could not help but still feel the nervousness when speaking up creeping in.

Jeno, who is sitting beside him, reaches out and squeezes his hand, offering a comforting smile at his best friend. Jaemin returned the gesture by bumping his shoulders with him. Some of the questions asked were regarding the whys of the dates as he expected, and the rest listened to his answers. One question in particular caught his attention. 

"Jaemin, are you consulted on the members who will be working with you? Is that how you formulated your calendar, with the so-called sanity days?" 

Jaemin nods, "yes, I was consulted. To all of the members who applied to be the stage managers, Mark, Koeun as the head director, and I deliberated on the possible chemistry of the members working with me. While Jisung and Yizhuo are new to the job, Jungwoo and I have worked together for the past year and I can say that we work well in terms of managing everything.

Of course, the calendar was made so that all stage managers will be present everyday for rehearsals, but it will not be wise if all of us are always present at all times since it might cause unnecessary conflict due to possible tension during work or academic workload, which was why I included 'sanity days' in the calendar, and those are days when one to two stage managers are allowed a break for the night. However, it does not mean that they are allowed to slack off, and on nights that they are not present, it is expected of them to catch up on the work missed for that night. Also, as you might have noticed, the sanity days are only during the month of September, and by October, the manpower of all the SMs are needed. I also consulted this with Sooyoung-noona, who was the head stage manager last year, and she agreed with this plan."

The next part of the meeting is primarily involving the finance, sponsorship and marketing and publicity committees, which is the technical side of the production, particularly the progress. Since Jeno is the finance committee head, he also assumed the responsibility of the assistant production manager for the technical committees. He went up the stage to explain the finance plan, and presented all the assumed costs per committee.

They also started to scout for the cheapest but durable materials necessary to build the set initially designed by Renjun, and discussed the ongoing process for obtaining sponsorship for cosmetics necessary for theater make-up to avoid more costs.

Following this is the marketing plan presented by Sooah to gain more traction in their audience, which is the university community. Questions are raised by the other members, the hows and the whys that Sooah and Soomin breezed through.

Finally, Yeri takes the floor and discusses the plans to promote the auditions week, build the hype around the concept, and lastly, promote the musical weeks before opening night. Everyone is satisfied with the concept Yeri and Sungkyung presented which was circling around the concept of a seventh sense.

After the gruelling presentation and discussion of calendars and concepts and progress of several committees, Koeun gives time for the artistic committees to meet up individually and plan the next step of the production which is to fit the ideas of their committees and relay it to the stage managers to be compiled and reviewed. She also allowed the others to leave once they met with their committee mates and receive instructions.

Jaemin watches his friends meet up with their respective committees, and it makes him smile at the growth of his friends now that they are more used to responsibility and leadership. The blond calls his co-stage managers, and asks them to recheck the calendar he made, as well as to brainstorm activities for the audition week.

Afterwards, he goes beside Renjun and Guanheng, who are meeting a dozen other members and set a scheduled day to meet up and plan the needed props and revise the initial set. He hears Renjun declare that he will put anyone who did not read the script and take notes yet attend the meeting in a chokehold, demonstrating it on Guanheng, who is caught off guard.

"Alright, since it is still the first week, you have two days to read the script and take notes. Also, Guanheng here already made a group chat, so you better check the files I sent there containing the initial set design. Please take notes on what can be improved, what should be changed, and if possible, what is the most efficient way we can make the props without it being too costly. All of you better be present in that meeting. Do you have any questions, clarifications?"

His committee members shake their heads and affirm to Renjun that they will be present in the meeting, unless something extremely important comes up. The blond watches as Guanheng and Renjun say some final reminders before dismissing their committee mates. Guanheng seems to be teasing Renjun in Mandarin about something, which caused the shorter's ears to redden. The younger just shoves Guanheng away, shouting "Yah! Go annoy Dejun or Lucas or something!" Guanheng laughs as he struts aways from the pair, immediately going to Lucas and draping his arm over the taller's shoulder.

Jaemin starts to bug him by lightly slapping his hands on the other's right arm. He turns to Jaemin, "you going home now?" Jaemin nods, preventing a yawn from escaping his mouth. He checks his watch, which shows that it is a quarter before 10 pm. Renjun hums, putting his right hand under his chin and furrowing his eyebrows, "alright, but let's get some ice cream at the 7-11 in the Student Union please!" Renjun looks up at the taller with a cheeky grin, already knowing that Jaemin will agree.

The other laughs, ruffling the other's newly dyed pink hair, and agrees, craving some cookies and cream ice cream himself. Renjun claps happily, turning to Koeun who is still by the stage, seeming to be in a discussion with Mark and the two other directors while packing up. Jaemin sweeps his gaze around the auditorium for Jeno, noticing that he is still waiting for Donghyuck, and he waves goodbye to his best friend. Some of their orgmates have already left earlier, and a handful are still loitering around, still not done catching up with each other. 

"Koeun! Guys! We'll be going home now!" Koeun nods and waves them off, shouting for them to take care and keep safe. Renjun and Jaemin return the gesture, and wave goodbye to the others. The two slowly descend from the higher location of the auditorium, heading towards the Student Union building a few minutes walk away. The two of them prefer walking back to their apartment complex when night time comes, and when they feel like it.

They reach the convenience store and Renjun immediately went to the ice cream freezer, picking two Cookies and Cream cornetto ice cream. He hands the two ice creams to Jaemin, while he goes to the candy section to get those strawberry yoghurt jelly-filled chocolates that he likes but Jaemin hates. As he approaches the blond, he sees him sneer at the candies Renjun carries. The pink-haired boy slightly pouts, "whaaaaat? It's for me! I need to stay awake for a reading and these will help!"

The taller snorts and walks near the cashier, handing Renjun his payment for the cornetto, but Renjun just pushes his hand back and pays for the ice creams and two packs of candies. The shorter's mood seems to be in high spirits even though he already went through the classes for his writing major, attended the grueling meeting, and will read an awaiting paper necessary for one of his writing classes.

Renjun is focused on paying for their snacks, which left Jaemin to think while waiting for his friend. He couldn't help but frown at his friend's workload, and Renjun turned towards him, seemingly noticing his sombre mood. "It's okay, Jaemin. The reading is not discussed until next week. I just want to start now so I can take notes that might be necessary for the discussion."

"Okay, but don't forget to stop when you feel like it already. Don't push yourself, it's still the start of classes you know."

His friend just hums, focusing on unwrapping the packaging of his ice cream after putting the paper bag containing his candies inside his messenger bag. The two of them begin to walk back to their apartment complex at a leisure pace with Renjun's unusual habit of looping his arm with Jaemin's, comfortable silence embracing them as they eat the ice cream. Renjun breaks the silence upon reaching the cone, "so… you wanna know about Koeun and Mark, right?"

Jaemin looks at his friend, giving an eye smile that can be interpreted as scheming or anticipation, and it often lies between the two when it comes to Jaemin. The older lets the silence simmer a bit more, and continues to eat his ice cream until he reaches the chocolate filling part of his cornetto. Renjun looks up at the night sky, taking a breath to remember what happened that midyear.

"Well, I think it was already known last sem that Mark and Mina, his girlfriend, were going through a rough time right? With Mina getting accepted as an exchange student for a year, Mark getting elected as the prod manager, and their academic load it was bound to happen eventually. By midyear, I think a few weeks after the term started, they broke up after an argument about Mina wanting to take a break. But well, what she wanted became permanent, I guess that fight was just the last straw for the both of them. Well, Mark went on to trash himself by drinking alcohol, and he drunk-called Koeun."

"What?! Wait wait wait. How do you even know all this?"

"I have my ways," Renjun snickers, stuffing the last bit of his cornetto in his mouth, while Jaemin is still in the middle of eating his own food, before telling Jaemin the truth, "you forget that Koeun adopted me and Chenle as her baby brothers in the org, much like how Hansol-hyung adopted you or Doyoung-hyung adopted Jeno. Anyway, I'm not finished yet. Where was I? Right, Mark drunk-called Koeun but I'm not sure about the details because they both refuse to spill what entirely happened.

But when we were having dinner together, the three of us, I unintentionally became their mediator so yeah. From what I can gather, Mark might have had feelings for Koeun and vice versa but they never acted upon it even when they were in high school? I think it was close to that speculation because when I asked Mark about it, he just stared miserably at me. I refuse to relive that disastrous dinner where they just exploded on each other's faces in my own home with me calming them down, I wished Donghyuck were there to make fun of them."

Jaemin looks up at the sky as he arranges his thoughts. The Orion's Belt was ever so present that night because of the clear night sky. "So that's why compared to when we were inducted in the org, they were tamer than before. They avoided bickering or fighting when dealing with committee issues."

Renjun chuckles, "I told them that. I said, _I refuse to work with you two if you're going to be unreasonable and prioritize your pride over the org and the committees. Get that in your brains._ And it seems that it works. I think the noonas and the hyungs were really worried about the two of them because they were so volatile together so they also talked to them."

"You can be scarier than Donghyuck or Jeno if you want to, you know. I guess it slapped some sense into them." The taller quips, brushing his hands off of crumbs that came from the cone.

"I'm just glad that they are better working together now. I remember in the elections when we were deliberating the prod manager they were worried about Mark and Koeun's chemistry even though they work well together. It was either they will allow the org to flourish together or destroy each other and bring the org down. I'm glad it's leaning towards the former, because everyone can see that they work well together."

Renjun hums in agreement with his friend, noticing that they're already at the entrance of their building. The comfy silence still lingers, and they just let it be, with Jaemin looking bleary already at half past 10. They enter and climb the stairs up to the floor when Renjun inquires about the auditions.

Jaemin answers that it will happen two weeks later, in the first week of September. He reasons that the four of them need to rotate the host for the audition since they have an unconventional method, as well as people who can demonstrate the activities. The panelists are also needed to be taken into consideration, on who should be allowed to be one, aside from the directors. Renjun listens, hums at the proper moments, gives a few suggestions until they reach their floor.

Once the pink-haired man unlocks his door, he leans his shoulder on the door that is still closed and watches the blond. The younger turns his head towards the older, a questioning expression on his face. Renjun walks forward and reaches up to ruffle Jaemin's hair. "It's nice to work with you again, SM Jaemin. Let's work hard together, and don't forget that you have your committee mates, me, Jeno, and the entire org. Good night." Then Renjun turns back, waves at Jaemin before completely disappearing behind his door.

"Good night Renjun." Jaemin has a small smile on his face when Minhee opens the door for his cousin.


	2. September

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaemin reminisces his life as a member of KTC and contemplates his current role as a stage manager.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi i'm so sorry i dipped, i really thought i'll be able to finish this last year given that i thought i'm not too busy but well life happens. now i'm finishing up my college degree so updates will definitely be very very slooooooow but i assure you that i'll be finishing this up. also, i think my chapters would somehow always range from 8k-10k so i hope that makes up for the incoming lack of updates?

Two weeks after the meeting, it is already the start of the production process, with them holding auditions for actors. KTC has always done unconventional auditions, wherein instead of the auditions where the person shows their prowess and skills in acting, singing, and dancing, they do auditions where all auditionees don't need to have the skill immediately and still enjoy the auditions with activities. 

It was agreed upon that the panelists, who basically observe and take notes on each auditionee's strengths for reference and sometimes give a sample performance on the next activity, will be the three directors and the heads of the artistics committees while Yizhuo and Jungwoo will host the auditions. Jisung, accompanied by Sungkyung from the Publicity committee, is assigned to document the whole audition process everyday. The other members are assigned to perform sample performances for the other activities, with Jaemin sweetly asking (threatening) them to help the stage managers.

Jaemin and Jeno, being two of the most physically attractive members in the org, are assigned to promote the audition process at the Student Union for two hours before Jaemin has to leave to orient the panelists for the happenings. As Donghyuck says, "all the people gravitate towards you because you're freaking handsome men!!!" Hendery, with his famous Prince Eric looks was paired with Lucas, the duo being good persuaders and the kind whom people feel immediately comfortable with, to promote near the Carabao Park and charm their way into curious people intrigued by their auditions and reputation.

After Jaemin finishes his schedule for promotions, Jeno is now paired with Sungkyung, who can give their pretty alumna Im Yoonah a run for her princess-y features, to continue promoting their auditions around the Student Union and even the Freedom Park. The platinum blond-haired stage manager proceeds to walk to the audition booth and venue located at the auditorium. He sees Jisung and Jungwoo sitting by the booth, and a bunch of unfamiliar faces loitering around, sitting on the cushions lining up the hall inside the building, with some of them having their phones out and some of them talking to what seems to be their friends. 

He walks with a poker face on, and he knows how incredibly intimidating his appearance can be, compared to Jungwoo's friendly visage, Jisung's childish features, and Yizhuo's doe-like appearance. The blond glances around the room, seeing Yizhuo walk out of the huge doors of the auditorium confidently. The people around the auditorium start to stare and whisper as the four of them talk at the registration booth, with Jaemin informing Yizhuo about the hardships in future agriculture courses. A bunch of fellow students shuffle towards the booth, catching Jisung's attention.

"Hello! Are you here to try for KTC'S musical audition?"

The tallest girl in front, with her long hair and doll-like eyes, nods and gestures behind her where another tall girl with shoulder-length brown hair stands, "me and my friend would like to try auditioning."

Jungwoo, who is standing in the middle of Jisung and Jaemin, nods, "alright then! Just write your name here, as well as the necessary information in the columns, since we need to contact you if you're invited for the callbacks. Please write legibly." He finishes off with a smile after pointing at the sheet placed in front of Jisung. 

Yizhuo, who sits beside Jisung, asks for the two girls' names to write on a strip of sticker paper. Jaemin observes with crossed arms the two newly arrived auditionees, then skims through the worksheets. Currently, there are 15 auditionees for the first day, and there will be more to come for the next four days of auditions. He just hopes that many will actually attend the callbacks which are acting workshops and activities made to be fun and enjoyed and learned. 

Yizhuo takes her time conversing with the two, asking how they heard about the auditions, what their courses are, how they are faring with the first two weeks of classes. Jungwoo watches Yizhuo, chiming in at the right moments, sharing his experiences in the past four years, while Jisung fidgets and twirls a pen on his right hand, seeming to be in deep thought. Jaemin taps Jisung, leading the latter to snap out of his thoughts, and smiles at him.

"You'll be fine. Mark and Koeun chose you as a stage manager for a reason, Jisungie. They trust you and your skills, so don't think too hard about it. is adjusting too, you know. She's just less awkward than you. We will be here to guide you so that you will know what to d. and I. Anyway, tell them I'll be heading inside, still going to brief the panelists on the flow of the program. We're gonna start in 30 minutes."

Jisung nods and promises to relay to the other two entertaining their auditionees, making small talk and sharing stories about their campus life and singing along to the org's original songs playing in Jisung's bluetooth speaker. Jaemin turns around to enter the auditorium, and sees his orgmates settled on the right side of the stage in audience perspective. Mark is tuning his guitar; Koeun seems to be doing some of her biology homework but also browsing through her phone; Donghyuck, Yangyang, and Dejun singing along to the song Mark starts playing; while Renjun, Hyejin, and Hina seems to be comparing their notes from their respective committee meetings, already headstarting prior to the artistics committee meeting set on Saturday. 

All were settled by a large table, some of them initially ignoring their respective chairs, preferring to currently sit on the sturdy wood. Jaemin clears his throat as he checks his watch, which catches everyone's attention. He starts to explain the program flow, hands everyone two sheets of paper for their observations, and assigns some of the panelists for sample performances. 

The program flow involves Creative Introduction, in which the auditionee will introduce themselves in a creative way; TapTap Level One, a game that can be executed as a show of acting skill, where the auditionee will think of a character and they have to act freely once they are tapped by the host; The Ultimate, where the auditionee have to reenact the most disgusting thing they can think of; and Thirty Seconds to Fame, where they are free to do whatever they want within thirty seconds to leave an impression to their panelists.

There are collective smiles in the panelists as they reminisce about their audition process, telling their stories during their audition day. Jaemin glances at his watch, seeing that there are still 20 minutes before 7 pm, the supposed start of auditions, and since they have time, he allows them to walk down memory lane. 

Koeun tells how Mark was so smitten with Mina, ignoring how the latter glares at her, and continues by saying that he whined at her after auditions because Mina was so pretty and he hoped to meet her again. Mark glares back, saying that Koeun had a 'first-sight' crush on Jaehyun and stumbled during her creative intro in front of him because she was so starstruck. Jaemin just snorts, allowing his friends' chatter to fill in the gloominess of the auditorium, letting himself be immersed in his memories from two years ago with his friend group.

  
  
  


It was also the second week of classes, and he and Jeno were walking towards their university gate, which actually does not have a gate but an open area with pillars, ready to head home and rest for the day. They were heading to Black and Brew, and Jaemin was so excited to eat the cheesy mushroom omelette with banana ketchup drizzled on top of the luncheon meat and rice his mouth started to water. Once the best friends were settled, Jeno seemed to be thinking about something after a lull in their conversation.

"What is it, Jen?" He asked, looking a bit worried. "Don't tell me you're already regretting CompSci when we're just two weeks in?"

Jeno chuckled at that remark. "No, that's not it. Besides, I already regret choosing this univ. It's just, there's this annual musical from KTC, you know, the ones who performed during the convocation, and I'm interested in auditioning." Jeno ended his words with a hesitant smile.

Jaemin fed himself another spoonful of bechamel-drenched rice, and after chewing and swallowing his food. "Go for it! I'll support you."

"Well, that's the thing. I want you to attend with me. You know, prominent support and everything, and it's a new thing we can try!" Jeno clapped his hands together and begged for Jaemin to audition with him. "Please please please Jaemin, it's rare that I ask something this big from you, but I want to experience this with you, too, as my best friend. And we'll be busy in the next few years so I want to experience something fun like this. They even said in the room-to-room announcements that we don't need to bring anything except ourselves."

Jaemin hummed, contemplating on Jeno's request. "Let me think about it for a while, yeah? Before we sleep I'll give you an answer."

"Thank you thank you thank you Nana."

Jaemin laughed as his best friend thanked him profusely. He thought about it as Jeno strayed the conversation away from the auditions, telling him about his red-haired partner in his speech communication class, the one Jaemin met at the campus tour. Said red-haired partner also planned to audition the next day with his own best friend, and the two of them were already planning to do so even before entering the university. 

Jaemin cut a portion of luncheon meat and rice as he listened to Jeno whine about his partner being a good singer and conversationalist, which was how the other befriended him in the first place. Jaemin in return talked about his physically angelic classmate who actually has quite the snarky attitude. He watched Jeno scoop rice as he told his best friend how he met his classmate, ("you never get tired of telling that story, huh?" Jeno interjected in which Jaemin ignored him) sighing dreamily and placing his chin on his left hand. Renjun was actually the one who struck conversation with Jaemin when he arrived early at their last class of the day last week. Jeno's eye smile as he observed his best friend widened at the other's smitten expression. They proceeded to dig in to their cheesecakes, blueberry for Jaemin, mango for Jeno.

Jaemin was really thankful that Jeno did not push on the auditions matter, allowing him to weigh the pros and cons of actually going. They walked in silence, Jeno humming to himself as they slowly made their way home. As they arrived at their apartment, they noticed the door before theirs opened, two familiar voices arguing.

"Come on Injunnie! Let's audition, okay? I heard that gaining experience in that musical can help us communications majors. Whether you want to or not I will practically drag you to the audi and sign up and force you."

"Geez Duckie, okay, okay. I'll audition with you. It's just, it's been so long that I kinda feel awkward acting again."

"I know, Injunnie, but it'll be fun! I'll be there with you every step of the way."

The other voice chuckled and agreed. Jaemin peeked at the door discretely as they passed the room, and the boy holding the door open recognized him. It was Renjun sending off Donghyuck, who was living inside the campus dorms compared to Renjun living in an apartment complex. 

Jaemin's classmate quietly held up a hand in a sheepish manner upon making eye contact with Jaemin, as if apologizing for his friend, and Jaemin just shook his head, trying not to feel flustered that _oh God I am neighbors with my crush????_ _And I blasted my AKB48 playlist just yesterday and oh my god i--_ but his train of thought did not finish because Jeno slowed down, tugging on the sleeve of his shirt, whispering, "that red-haired boy is my partner."

Jaemin just hummed, fishing for the keys in his front pocket as they walked past the other pair, with the brunet sending off the redhead. They walked past Renjun's door and towards their own, with Jaemin unlocking the door knob. The two of them automatically went to drop their things at their respective rooms, and arranged their things in a relatively orderly fashion again. 

Jaemin grabbed his towel, calling out to Jeno that he's gonna shower first. Jaemin thought about Jeno's proposal some more.  _ Well, it's a new thing to try, and I'm not that busy yet with my courses. Hmmm… given my subjects this sem, almost all are prerequisites for higher courses and major subjects. My GEs are not that exhausting academically too. There is really no con to this as long as I can manage my time properly. Plus, Renjun is also going to audition too. Hmmm… and Jeno really wants to do this. Okay then. _ Jaemin finished his shower with an answer to Jeno's request.

The next day came with him telling Jeno that he is willing to audition with him, and Jeno jumping in excitement at Jaemin's answer, arms wrapping around him in a bear hug. "We should audition today! Will that be okay with you?"

"Sure, I'm not busy tonight anyway, I already did my assignments last night." Jaemin shrugged, as he munched on his Koko Crunch cereal, scooping some with milk in a bowl, as his breakfast. Jaemin glanced at the clock hanging on their wall. "Jen, it's 7:45. You're going to be late." Jeno scrambled to wear his messenger bag and ran to the door to get to his class on time, shouting his goodbye at his best friend. Jaemin just hummed as he watches the door close behind the other, chewing on his cereal, thinking if he missed any assignment or requirement for the day.

Later that day, Jaemin's chemistry class finished early, around 30 minutes before his next class, so he went to the small snack store beside the lecture hall and bought 3 graham balls and a ham and egg sandwich. He then traversed the short walk to his next classroom, which was the humanities building in front of the physical sciences building, savoring the cool afternoon breeze. 

As he climbed up the steps, he heard his name being called and upon looking around, he saw Renjun waving him over by the left side, which was also the side where the stairs go towards the basement, and in turn their classroom is located. He walked towards his new friend, the other's chocolate brown hair being tousled slightly by the gentle wind, then sat beside him on the built in benches on the corners of the hallway. 

"Hey there, how's chem?" Renjun inquired with a tilt of his head, his thick reading materials out, placed on his lap. Jaemin groaned as an answer, resting his head on the wall behind him, getting some shut-eye before their last class of the day. "Quite torture, as usual. Too much information for an hour and a half but no computations yet." He murmured, hugging his backpack to himself.

Renjun hummed in reply, quietly talking to allow his friend to rest. "I'll wake you up in 20, go rest." For the past few days, the two of them got to know and befriended each other ever since Jaemin started seating beside Renjun since he usually arrived 5 minutes before class starts. Renjun helped him revise whenever there is an announced quiz, and they even went to dinner a few times. 

That was when Jaemin and Renjun learned about each other's schedules; that every Tuesday and Thursday they were classmates for their last class of the day which is college English, that Renjun had an hour and 30 minute break before English but preferred to stay in the humanities building than the student union because relatively it was more quiet in the former, that Jaemin had quite a packed schedule everyday due to 3-hour long labs, only having an hour break in between which he utilized for eating lunch. 

The two of them also learned about their living arrangements: Renjun lived alone in the room beside Jeno and Jaemin's, and that his best friend from high school, Donghyuck, preferred to stay in his apartment before going back to his dorm that is university-owned and located inside the campus. Their friendship continued to develop, and to be honest, Jaemin's admiration of Renjun also grew. 

Jaemin felt Renjun lightly shake him awake, murmuring that it's been 20 minutes and their class would start a few minutes later. He blearily smiled at the shorter, muttering a sleepy thanks as he rubbed his eyes off of sleep. The two of them proceeded to go down the basement stairs and enter their classroom, just listening to the chatter and avoid colliding on other students who were going the opposite direction.

Once they entered the classroom and settled down, Jaemin opened his bag to take out his notebook and gel pen for the class. Renjun also prepared his binder notebook, flipping to the part where it is reserved for the class. As they waited for the professor to arrive, Jaemin turned towards Renjun, who had his chin propped up on his right hand, his left hand twirling his ballpoint pen. 

"I can't help but overhear last night, but what's up with the audition Donghyuck was talking about?"

Renjun blinked at him, a little bit stunned at the question, before he directed his gaze at the board again. "Duckie wants the two of us to audition for this annual musical play by, ummmm, KTC, I think? He acted in highschool, and was even a member of the theater club there, while I'm a musical enthusiast, and I acted voluntarily before our last year in high school. He wanted me to try things since we're in a new place and all. Oh, why did you ask?"

Jaemin nodded, glancing at his wristwatch. Their prof is late. "Jeno and I are going to audition too. He also wanted to try new things, even though he's always been the outgoing one between us. He can only feel comfortable when I'm there, even if I'm just at the side. I'm also interested because I liked acting in some of our projects in high school."

Renjun nodded, opening his mouth to reply when their professor strided inside the classroom. He watched for a few minutes before turning to the taller, since she was still setting up the projector and her laptop, talking about their topic for the day. "We're gonna audition today, because Duckie wanted to get it over with, even though he was the one who practically begged me to be there." He ended with a chuckle. As Jaemin watched their prof write on the board, he glanced at his friend, preparing mentally for his last hour and a half of lecture for the day. "Jen and I will audition today, too. Do you wanna go with me to the student union after class? That's where Jen and I will meet later."

Renjun lightly stomped his feet happily, then warily glanced at their prof who was close to finished in preparing her lecture for the day. "Oooohhh sure! I'll text Duckie to meet us there later, too."

The class went by without a hitch, just their professor being her usual self, quite goofy and had a good comedic timing but when it comes to what she teaches her expertise on the subject really shows. They ended the class without any homework but their prof assigned reading material to be discussed at their next meeting. As they stand up to leave their classroom in the basement, Renjun whipped up his phone, typing fast and pocketing it once he sent the message; Jaemin thought that he just told Donghyuck they would be meeting at the student union. 

While walking towards the student union, they shared stories about their best friends, and Jaemin even pointed out that Donghyuck was Jeno's partner in their speech class. Jaemin shared how he and Jeno solidified their friendship with the flying shoe, while Renjun told the taller how he and Donghyuck befriended each other, which was because of a Nutella sandwich. 

When they reached the 7-11 convenience store located in the student union, they went inside, and bought some snacks; Jaemin a pork bun, Renjun a hotdog sandwich. They walked along the open hall leading to the entrance of the building itself, where rows and columns of chairs and tables filled with students are located. Loud chatter and laughter can be heard in different areas, obnoxious story telling heard throughout the building. Some tables have small banners promoting their org activity, which were usually orientations and getting to know the org more. Some upperclassmen were shouting out their organization name, including the orientation and free dinner. Jaemin and Renjun can't help but feel awed with the life of the students, past and present, filling the student union to the brim. They went to sit down on one of the few empty tables and chairs, immediately getting their phones to text their location to their respective friends.

A few minutes later, their best friends arrived and they introduced each other. Jaemin couldn't help but release a laugh at the incredulous faces Jeno and Donghyuck upon noticing that they all know each other but not really. Jeno and Donghyuck sat down beside their respective best friends, eating the snacks purchased for them. They talked about the auditions, the interest that Jeno and Donghyuck expressed upon someone from the organization announced it in their speech class yesterday. Some people also started announcing about the auditions for the day, which they took as a sign to go to the auditorium already and sign up. He thought back on it, and their SMs were also the ones manning the booth that time: Sooyoung-noona, Seulgi-noona, Kun-hyung, and Lucas. The other members of KTC were either not available that time, or going around the campus roping unsuspecting people into auditioning.

Jaemin remembered that it was Seulgi-noona who hosted during their auditions, and some more of their now-graduated upperclassmen as panelists, and they were particularly intimidating. He thought about Soojung-noona and Johnny-hyung being particularly scary during their auditions, what with their poker faces and note-taking. Seulgi-noona had introduced herself as the head stage manager, as well as the host for the night. 

It was already all a blur to Jaemin, since it happened two years ago when they were freshmen, but all of the panelists then were introduced. He thought of the exhilarating feeling of doing the unconventional audition method, because it felt more like fun games than a legitimate audition process. Jeno and Donghyuck were quite the outstanding ones among all the auditionees, the latter showing his acting prowess during TapTap, where they have to act out a character, while the former really outdid himself during Thirty Seconds to Fame. One thing he noticed was that after the last activity, some of the panelists, the ones who were introduced as directors like Soojung-noona and Jaehyun-hyung asked them to dance to a rhythm they would make or impersonate someone. He finished the audition with a happy smile, and the panelists having a pleased look on their faces. 

It was a normal audition, even though he still remembered feeling secondhand embarrassment for his best friend who did his unusual dance-thingy promotion that he did for their high school. After the activity, Seulgi had reminded them to look forward to the callbacks and expect a text message from them that would indicate they passed the auditions. Na Jaemin had ended his night eating dinner with two newfound friends and his best friend, looking forward to his first semester of college.

  
  
  


Back to the present time, Jaemin is shaken from his flashback by Jisung, saying that he has five more minutes to make everyone settle down and prepare for the audition proper. He thanks Jisung with a small smile, clapping his hands to gain the attention of everyone in the room. "All right everyone! This is the first day of KTC's annual auditions, and also the start of a new journey with all of you. Let's all do our best, and I know that no matter what hardships we face, we can still overcome it. Fighting, KTC!" He shouts and pumps his hand up, the others collectively going along. Jaemin then settles beside Koeun and Renjun, nearly at the middle of the table and prepares his paper and pen for notes.

Since it is still the first day, the amount of auditionees is quite few, only reaching 12 auditionees. He is a teeny bit indifferent yet for the auditionees of the day, not anyone spectacular yet, but he appreciates the courage and effort of diving into new things, especially for freshmen. Some quite interesting things still occurred, like one of the auditionees crying out of relief after the auditions, and Jeno who is assigned to do a sample, repeated his high school dance which drew smiles and laughter from the overall audience. 

He already knows that all of them, upon attending workshops if they attend the callbacks, will greatly improve in the art of acting, much like him and Renjun and even Hina who are quite shy before. Jaemin shrugs the worry of having few auditionees off, and Jungwoo as well, even though Yizhuo and Jisung are quite worried. The older two reassure the younger two that it's like that for the first day, because students do their academic requirements on Monday to catch up from the rest of the weekends. They expect an increase of auditionees for the next three days and lower again on Friday, which was the last day. After the auditions, all of them decided to eat out at Tapa P's, where the tapsilog is quite delicious and the org does their assessments for any activity or program they do.

Walking along Grove, Jaemin automatically gravitates beside Renjun, and he relishes in the happy chatter of his orgmates as he listens to the stories of antics by Lucas and Guanheng that Jungwoo tells them during their freshman year. He notices Jisung on Renjun's other side, the younger smiling as he taps fast on his phone. "Oho, Jisungie, is that Chenle I see?"

Jisung turns his head towards the older so fast Jaemin thought the younger might snap his neck. Renjun laughs at Jisung's deer in the headlights expression as they take a turn in one of the less crowded streets heading to Agapita where the eatery is located, and Jaemin gives him that teasing grin he always does. He turns to Renjun, bumping his shoulder to the smaller, "look Renjunnie, our Jisungie is all grown up!" Much like how Renjun is taken under Wendy and Koeun's wing and Jaemin under Hansol then Jaehyun, Jisung is 'adopted' by Renjun and Jaemin, doting on the younger and comforting him whenever he has his frantic tendencies.

As Renjun laughs and coos at Jisung, Jisung just looks down and blushes, fiddling with his phone that lights up with a new message. Jaemin's smile turned more sincere as Jisung types a reply to Chenle, the same fond smile painting on his lips that Jaemin can sometimes feel on his own face whenever Renjun is involved. Jisung did not bother a response to all their teasing, Renjun and Jaemin just meeting the younger's frown with adoring smiles of their own. 

It is then that they realized they finally arrived at Tapa P's. Renjun tugs Jaemin's sleeve, whispering his order to the taller, which is the same as his: bangusilog and a bottle of Mountain Dew. Jisung also says his order to Jaemin, and the other takes it in stride, letting the two to settle on the table. Koeun and Hina are already sitting at the long table, arranging the notes they took on the auditionees while also taking watch on their things. The others went to order their food, only bringing their wallet to pay. 

As they wait for all of their food to be cooked, they talk about some of the remarkable auditionees: Wonyoung who was one tall girl but can flick on a switch to change character; Taeyoung who can give Chenle a run for his singing voice if polished more; Yuna who is really good in dancing; Kyungwoo who can be an allrounder if coaxed out of his shell. So far, Koeun and Donghyuck is satisfied with the auditionees, although helping them improve more is what they are good at doing ever since. 

Their food arrived a few minutes later, and all of them shoved spoonfuls of their respective foods, a comfortable silence settling in the air of the orgmates. He knows that all of them savor this moment before they have to eat microwavable food or sacri dinners for raising funds for the necessities of the artistic committees. There is a collective shudder as they all seem to imagine Lucas' imposing figure and Jeno's threatening eye smile looming in the background. 

Quiet chatter surrounds them like a blanket, an occasional chuckle from the other customers, and muffled shouts from the staff at the kitchen area. Jaemin always judges the kitchen area, because it is too exposed, and microbes can certainly settle there if not maintained properly. Yangyang would always shove him, saying to  _ let people eat delicious food and not judge a book by its cover _ . He always says that because Tapa P's is his favorite eatery. Jaemin just deadpans at Yangyang when he does this.

As he sees Jungwoo munch on cheese sticks dipped in ketchup-mayonnaise sauce that Donghyuck ordered, Mark clears his throat to indicate that the assessment will start in a while, so Jaemin gets out his notebook reserved only for KTC work matter, and urges Jisung on his left and Yizhuo in front of him to take notes as well. Jungwoo is assigned to take the comments verbatim whenever they have meetings like this involving the stage managers to review on what should be improved. Mark begins. 

"Okay, we start with this being the first day of KTC auditions, and I commend the SMs for being well-prepared. We now assess on the process, starting with before auds, during, and after. Anyone want to begin?"

The other members point out the parts that they commend and the parts that they can definitely work on more, and Jungwoo and Jaemin have less than a day to prepare properly for day 2, which will be an onslaught of auditionees after word-of-mouth and online publicities work their magic. The older two accept the criticism in stride, unlike the younger two who still struggle with accepting honest but brash words from the older members. 

There was the part that Jaemin at an instance seems to not be paying attention, staring off into space. Jungwoo would sometimes be too hesitant in some parts of his hosting. Yizhuo observes too much instead of manning the booth outside. Jisung's recording was sometimes too shaky and too far from the stage. He still urges the two to take notes, especially those that are individually directed at them. Jaemin offers resolutions on suggestions while Jungwoo would sometimes defend the reasoning of some of their actions which the others accept or sometimes ask an in-depth explanation of. This went on for an hour at least until they finally finished.

It was finally nearing 11 pm when they finally finished the assessment and decided to start heading home to get some rest and do some academic responsibilities. Hina and Hyejin separate immediately, living in the area around Agapita. The rest starts the journey back to the campus area. The streets are more quiet at night time, some street lamps flickering on and off. The roads are also quiet, an occasional jeep or car or even tricycle driving past them. The sidewalks are empty, save for some closed food stalls and students going home for the night. Mark and Koeun separate from their group a few paces later, and Jaemin and Renjun once they arrive before campus premises. The rest live inside the campus area, with Jungwoo and Dejun promising to drop off Yizhuo at her dorm before they go to theirs.

Renjun and Jaemin talk about their day as they walk to their apartment complex. Renjun loops his arm around Jaemin's arm again, already a habit for the both of them whenever they go home together. Jaemin shares that they made kimchi for the day as part of an exercise in food fermentation, complains about having food engineering when he did not even want to study that field. Renjun whines about the amount of readings dumped on them that he has to go through for the week as well as an output in creative writing to be passed two weeks later. They share a few more stories, gossip on the Donghyuck-Jeno development, until they arrive at their floor. Renjun seems to be hesitant in detangling himself from Jaemin but ultimately did so. The pink-haired turns toward his blond friend, "you did well tonight, Jaemin-ah. Good night! Say hello to Minhee for me."

Jaemin smiles, "Night, Jun. Utilize the Mountain Dew in your system to get some reading done, yeah?" He says as he walks to the next door. He hears Renjun's warm laughter and an "I will!" before a soft closing of the other door is heard. 

  
  
  
  
  


The auditions process went by smoothly, and Jaemin is satisfied with the number of auditionees. Since for this year the theme and moodboard of the scenes will be a carnival, there needs to be an abundant amount of people on stage, as well as backstage. He just hopes that many of the auditionees attend the callbacks which will be workshops to improve acting, stamina, voice projection, and the like. It was the last day, and the four of the stage managers decided to have a meeting the next day at Jaemin's apartment. Good thing Minhee went home for the weekend, Jaemin can have the place to himself and conduct the meeting there, along with the heads of the other artistic committees.

By 10 in the morning, all of the people he needed for the meeting have arrived. Jaemin discussed the necessary workshops, as well as the second round of workshops for the characters. He asks Yizhuo to take the minutes of their meeting that will be reported to the others for later and for the probable dates for the casting auditions, where all of the heads of the committees, even those not in the artistics, must attend. Yizhuo gives him that it will land on the third week of September, unless they do the casting over the weekend. Jungwoo suggests that they put it in a week-long timeframe since they need to consult this over the others, especially the directors and production manager.

Jaemin turned to Jisung, asking for his opinion. Jisung stammers,"I-I don't think we should ask for their schedules. It should be us who should decide the dates, and it is up to them if they can attend or not." 

Jungwoo nods in contemplation, knowing how inconvenient it will be if they ask everyone's schedules. Jaemin considers this, and remembers how hard it was last year when both Jaehyun, the head playwright, and Doyoung, the musical director, couldn't make it. Jungwoo rests his back on the seat as he replies, "well, instead of the whole week, we could just make the casting auds on Wednesday to Friday on the second week of callbacks? There's a holiday on Wednesday, right?"

"Yep. We can also film the auditionees so that those who could not make it can still watch it during deliberations. We all know how important choosing who would act as the main characters are, after all. But aren't we going to sacrifice the workshops if we push through with the castings on the third week?" Yizhuo gives her input. 

Jaemin hums, sweeps his gaze on his committee mates and their hopeful (Jungwoo), determined (Yizhuo), hesitant (Jisung) expressions. "Jungwoo's suggestion is actually feasible, given that we can follow through with our plan and schedule, and I know that we can do that. The workshops won't be sacrificed as long as the more important ones will be prioritized for the callbacks. The rest of the other workshops can be done on the first few days while the writers revise the script for final touches. And based on your expressions, you also like Jungwoo's suggestion. Just,” he trailed off, “prepare yourselves mentally and physically, especially you two.” He looks pointedly at Jisung and Yizhuo, who nodded reassuringly.

Later that day, around afternoon, the rest of the artistics committee heads begin to arrive at his apartment, so that the second part of their meeting that day can finally happen. Jaemin leaves for the kitchen, while Jisung and Yizhuo welcome the others, to gather enough cups and glasses for his orgmates, chips flavored in cheese or barbecue or vinegar, and cookies that he bought from Micha’s when the four of them went out for lunch. 

He is kind of thankful that with Renjun being his neighbor and also attending this meeting, he had the foresight to at least bring bread buns for pancit, and large bottles of soda and juice, especially Mountain Dew, which at this point is the energy drink of their org. Jungwoo is cooking some instant calamansi pancit canton to eat as well, so Jaemin took out their stash of paper plates just so he can avoid washing the dishes later that night.

He pouts at Jungwoo and Renjun, who is the earliest to arrive, “We’re just going to be in a meeting, why do we have to prepare this much food?” Jungwoo laughs in reply, reaching down to ruffle the younger’s hair, “you know very well that our orgmates work better while eating food, so that’s one reason why. And you know who would attend this meeting; we have Jisung, Yizhuo, and Sungkyung who eat as if they have a Snorlax in their bellies; we have Chenle and Sungchan, who loves pancit canton; and we have Hina and Koeun, who can’t go on a meeting without eating anything. Bonus is that we get to bond with them! Consider this as the sem starter!”

Jaemin sighs, not denying the statements because of how true it is. He rubs his temple as he closes his eyes, trying to ward away the nerves he feels even though he worked with almost all of them before. He watches as Renjun helps Jungwoo strain the water from the noodles, while Jisung and Yizhuo play High School Musical as they wait. Someone knocks on his door, so he strides towards the door and opens it to see their youngest members arrive. Chenle, Sungchan, Minjeong and Sungkyung grin as Jaemin steps aside to let them enter, and the noises of the 6 babies of the org fill the room as Jungwoo, Jaemin, and Renjun watch.

"I'll go chat the GC to ask where they are." Jungwoo says, getting his phone and unlocking it. Renjun leans with his back on the counter, crossing his arms as he watches the babies sing along to Stick to the Status Quo. "Tell them that the Snorlax trio will eat the food prepared if they don't come within the next 20 minutes." Jungwoo chuckles as he types Renjun's suggestion, and a few moments later, the GC is flooded with replies that they are on the way. Some replied that they won't be able to attend but their co-head will be able to for their committee.

Donghyuck is the next one to arrive, bringing sisig with him. Jaemin turns to the older members of the org then, "should I just steam rice in case some of them want to have dinner already?" Donghyuck laughs at that question, and the rest nods, knowing how some members just practically inhale the food, especially free food. Hina also arrived, bringing a big tub of carbonara, then Dejun and Guanheng with two whole roasted chickens. 

The rest arrived soon after, either bringing biscuits or chips or juices. Jaemin ended up smiling at the rowdy bunch of people in his home, but they have to start soon. "I feel like we have too much food to eat but dig in with the food." And so everyone grabs a paper plate, and a pair of plastic utensils to dig in before starting the meeting. Jaemin sets up a trash bag where everyone can dump their garbage instead of allowing it to litter around. Another hour and a half passes of chewing and chatter and laughter before they officially start the meeting.

Some members settled on the sofa, but the majority settled on the floor, bellies full of pancit and chicken and rice. Thank goodness their apartment is actually pretty big that it can fit 15 people in the living room and kitchen. Everyone prepared their phones and notebooks, ready to note what they must be doing. Everyone agreed to have the stage managers be last due to their numerous updates. Mark starts to talk about the progress of revising the script, and he says that by the end of the week, they will be halfway through after consulting their older members and some supportive professors.

Jaemin reaches towards the tub of cookies he bought, grabbing two choco chips as he writes the updates on his notebook. Koeun and Hina say that they started blocking their parts after reading the script. Minjeong, on behalf of the Costume and Make-up committee and Herin, reports that they started doing the inventory of the make-up and clothes that are in the auditorium or with the previous CMU members that are owned by the org. Chenle and Dejun give the updated list of songs that are in the scene, as well as the progress of the music made. Dejun even played part of the chorus of the final song, which was their first completed song.

Hyejin, on behalf of Aeri and the Lights and Sounds committee, states that they began to download the indicated sfx present and identifiable within the script. Every week will be an alternate pair between her and a committee member, and Aeri and another committee member. For the choreography, Sungchan says that they started to do the anthem song after reading the finished script. 

The Set and Props committee began to also do their own inventory of possible props. Guanheng, who is assigned for the props, has started to record the possible props needed per scene; while Renjun, who designs the set, presents his draft of the sets for each scene. The first act will be circus-themed, while the second act will have the seaside town vibes, which is the setting of the story. Everyone marvels at Renjun’s idea, liking the change in mood color of the two acts. With the S&P committee showing their ideas, Yangyang, as the Tech Director starts to write his ideas and relay it to Hyejin and everyone present in the meeting.

It is now the Stage Managers’ turn to give their updates, hence Jaemin starts to speak up. “There are a total of 50 auditionees, and knowing what happened the previous years, there is a possibility of some freshies not pushing through the callbacks and even to the rehearsal proper. We also request the directors and writers to, as much as possible, always attend the workshops to eye the prospective actors that can possibly play the characters.” 

Jaemin slides a piece of paper towards Mark and Koeun, and also puts the list on his laptop to show to the others. “Also, here is the list of workshops we brainstormed earlier in the day. It is composed of the past workshops all of us experienced back in the day, just aligned differently. Two weeks is the allotted time for all the workshops, and we made sure that there is no idle day. We also made a schedule within us stage managers so that one of us will always be at least present during the workshops.

Now, we’ve been thinking when the casting auditions would be, since the bulk of the panelists will include all of the directors and writers, as well as us stage managers. We stage managers have talked about it going for two days, and it is either on the third week of production or the second week, where the workshops will be adjusted to give way to the casting. The directors and writers must give us their availability for these days, and we understand if it’s hell week, but aside from that, you have no excuse to be absent and committed to this so kindly do your job.” Jaemin ended his spiel with a menacing smile towards the directors and the writers present who seems to shrink under his gaze.

Jungwoo has a pleased smile on his face as he watches, while Yizhuo and Jisung watch in awe at their leader’s intimidation tactics. His grin widens even more when Mark clears his throat and the three directors blink in surprise before they all nodded their agreement. Koeun clears her throat, "we'll give you our availability on the said dates within the week."

"No. Give it by Monday. Jungwoo and I are still going to arrange and prepare for the workshops and we have to finalize it tomorrow, except for the last two days being open days for the casting or workshops, your pick, directors." A few beats of silence pass within the apartment room. At Koeun's nod, the small tension dissipates, and Mark ends the meeting quite soon after asking for clarifications or questions. The day soon comes to a close after the meeting is adjourned, and the members started to help in clearing up the trash from the food they brought. Jaemin and Renjun are the two ones left, after Jaemin sends Jisung and the other babies off from the door of the apartment.

Jaemin goes to where Renjun is soaping up the dishes and the cutlery used during the meeting, and he quietly picks up the glasses that are placed idly on the sink. He proceeds to rinse the suds off the glass, as Renjun continues to wash the plates with soap. It is a quiet moment between the two friends, and just like before, despite liking Renjun, Jaemin once never felt nervous when he is with the older (okay, well, maybe that one time where they met by the stairs is a different case) and he enjoys the solitude the atmosphere brings.

  
  
  
  


The weekend, for Jaemin and probably for the rest of his co-SMs, is the calm before the storm. Jisung and Yizhuo are the SMs assigned to send a message to all the auditionees saying that they passed the audition. Jungwoo and Jaemin finalized the workshops week, and the directors gave the schedule that they prefer the casting auds to be during the last two days of next week. 

Monday arrives, and after his lab, he texts Jeno if he is attending the first day of callbacks. He receives an answer from his best friend with a huge YES and around dozen exclamation points followed by an XD. Jaemin rolls his eyes fondly. Jeno and his weird texting habits from highschool is still there. A few more exchanges later and Jaemin arrives at his apartment.

He goes in and notices that Minhee is not home, probably still on the way back to the campus. He decides to eat at his most trusted eatery that he and his friends fondly call Kubo. And because today is the start of his excruciating journey of balancing prod work and academics, he decided to eat his forever trusted meal: tocino with salted egg and rice.

After savoring his meal, he goes to his apartment and drops his school bag to change for a smaller bag. He decides to have a power nap, 30 minutes before their call time.

The blond wakes up to the loud ringing and vibration of his phone, indicating that 30 minutes has passed. He looks at the SM group chat and the three others had said that they're already on the way to the Student Union building. Jaemin takes it as a sign to prepare and walk to the audi for the callbacks. 

He enjoys the cooling breeze of September, indicating that the colder months of the year are beginning. He adjusts the strap of his bag, takes a deep breath to steel his nerves. Jaemin may be an introvert, but he is not a prude to social interaction. He just needs a bit more time than the rest of his friends to prepare.

As he begins the trek to the audi, he observes his surroundings. The big sidewalk lined up with palm trees, where you have to be careful so as not to be hit by its large falling leaves. The chatter of other students, instructors, professors, as they go their merry ways. The off-white buildings where classes are held, and at night time is lit up by bright lights, and sometimes you catch movements of shadows behind the curtains. 

The university is old. It had been a part of the world war. So it is no surprise that entities exist, but as long as they are given respect they don’t really disturb anyone. They just like to play. 

Jaemin reaches the bridge, which the community fondly calls the Sperm bridge, because, well, it smells like it whenever it rains. The rushing of the creek below is comforting, and the random chirps of different birds that they don’t see gives life to the community. The greens of the trees are pleasing to the eyes, whenever it's daytime, but at night, they give off the intimidating vibe.

As Jaemin arrives at the audi, the three other stage managers are happily preparing, courtesy of Jungwoo having experience before. He greatly appreciates Jungwoo for his guidance, and he never oversteps on his role. He likes that Jisung and Yizhuo never hesitates to ask, though admittedly it took quite a bit of coaxing on Jisung to always ask questions when he does not understand something.

He arrives on time, and pleased enough to see that the number of auditionees who returned for the callbacks exceeded his expectations. But he knows, this number would still reduce.

As he and his co-stage managers take their positions, they open the door to the audi, into the stage, to welcome their future actors.

The workshops are enjoyable, it brought laughter to his eyes. The way Jeno and Donghyuck would subtly flirt in front of the actors made him want to reprimand them, but he does not need to, Jungwoo already did. The whole auditorium, for two weeks, is always filled with excited chatter, and as the casting auditions loom in the horizon, Jaemin can already feel the fatigue of his role. 

But onto the workshops. They started with the easier ones: everything voice and speaking related they tackled. Donghyuck had been the one to hold the tongue twister workshop, while Chenle had been the vocal teacher. With both of them being involved with Music, anything relating to music had been their domain. As Jamein watches them teach the actors, he can’t help but smile on how far they have come as members of their organization.

Next was related to the body. The tension of their movements, on how big or small the movement should be, to be seen at the back of the audi, and any type of movement is up to Shotaro and Sungchan. Jisung and Yizhuo could not help but laugh while they supervise the workshop, because the groans of pain the actors were releasing because of Shotaro’s warm-ups are reminiscent of their own experience. Jaemin thinks that Yizhuo and Jisung have what it takes to lead next year as stage managers, with their friendly attitude yet still setting boundaries when work is work.

Next was expression and acting. It is Jungwoo and his turn to supervise the workshops, due to the two kids being a bit busy academically. Thank goodness Jaemin had his first exam of the semester during the first week of workshops, and he almost cried during the exam. Out of all the subjects he had taken, food engineering is the one he dislikes the most.

Koeun and Hina teach their actors a lot of different things. How to express the proper emotion, how to switch characters in the blink of an eye and not be noticeable, how to convey the emotion to the audience. Jungwoo would sometimes interject, give some of his inputs as a stage manager last year. Koeun and Hina did really well as directors, and he feels that excitement of working with them churning in his gut.

Jaemin loves how in KTC, their workshops are still filled with laughter. Their actors enjoy the workshops. He tries to ignore at the back of his mind the fact that there are less and less actors who attend, until it reached a constant number of 30. Well, he knows they can work with that, but nevertheless, he looked forward to working with them.

The casting auditions ran smoothly. All of the directors and stage managers are present, as well as half of the script writers. He knows that some of them are quite busy with their academic load, so he lets it go. Some of the actors stuttered through the casting, where they were asked to sing, dance, and act out the character given to them, individually. Some of the actors did really well, others needed a bit more workshop, but all in all, Jaemin is satisfied with how they guided the actors.

Deliberations for the characters did not run smoothly, and that’s okay. It took them the whole weekend until they finally reached a consensus decision, and the four stage managers had never been so ready to sleep the day away. When Renjun and Jeno saw him and Donghyuck with dark bags under their eyes, they really had the audacity to laugh. 

“You two look like elephants trampled around in your beds!” 

Donghyuck snaps at Jeno’s remark, “That’s probably because maybe they did!”

“If by elephants, you mean Mark, Koeun, Jimin, and Dejun, then yes, they did.” Jaemin states, a heavy sigh escaping him. He keeps on shaking his head and holding back his yawn to keep himself awake. “God, the never-ending debates, the constant bickering. It’s a nightmare.”

“Come on, you two. Congrats on the deliberations. Let’s get lunch, Jeno and I'll treat.”

Upon hearing the possibility for free food, Donghyuck and Jaemin straightened up, becoming more alert than they were a few minutes ago.

Jeno nods at Renjun’s statement, “where do you wanna eat, you two?”

The younger two looked at each other, and simultaneously said, “Seoul Kitchen!”

  
  
  


Jeno and Jaemin rarely fight, preferring to talk about the conflict early on before they both burst in anger. That was how they always worked as best friends, which also meant that the major conflict they have is already a disagreement. That was not the case right now.

Tension is running high within the production staff, given that it is already two weeks in to the rehearsals, annoyance and irritation can be felt, especially when meetings are done. Jaemin can already feel the pressure, having to take care of around 30 actors with 3 other people and reporting to different committee heads whenever they request for something or inquire about the schedule. 

Jungwoo manages to keep it in stride, doing this for two years already. It helps so much that Jungwoo is such a people-person, and not an intimidating person at first glance. Jisung and Yizhuo are also managing well, which impresses Jaemin, despite the pressure put by the directors and the other staff, the two youngest of the org is able to withstand it.

Compared to Jaemin, who is currently clicking the pen he is holding, cradling the script in his left arm and rewriting the notes he had taken earlier in his class. Jeno and Jimin are supposed to be in the auditorium already, based on the text Jeno sent him 30 minutes earlier. He really needs the money for masking tape to be placed on the stage for marking the center, and also for labelling stuff.

Jaemin has to hold back from snapping at the staff and the actors. Jeno is still nowhere to be found, he still isn’t finished with his part on the paper about starch analysis, and the actor’s behavior is getting on his nerves. Good thing Jungwoo convinced him to allow the other three to take over for today, and just attend to other matters.

He heaves a deep breath, thankful for the breather Jungwoo gives him. He walks backstage, ignoring the curious looks some of the actors are giving him after he makes a show of slamming his copy of the script on the platform in the orchestra pit. He looks for Renjun, and immediately remembers that he’s not present for the night, cramming an important essay for one of his writing classes. He shifts his focus to Donghyuck, but he is also busy finishing up one of the songs with Chenle and Dejun.

Finding nowhere to turn to, and his irritation at Jeno being a no-show for the moment adding gasoline to the flame of annoyance burning through Jaemin, he decides to exit the audi and go to the nearest 7-11 store, which is located at the front of the student union building.

What Jaemin did not expect is seeing Jeno sitting at a couch in the hall just outside the audi, watching a video, happily, relaxed, beside Jimin. What added fuel to the fire is hearing them laugh with no reservations, gushing about whoever is in that video. The stage managers had been waiting for Jeno to arrive since the start of the rehearsals. The blond could not help the frown that marred his face.

“Jeno.” Jeno looked up, a happy smile on his face, which faltered upon seeing Jaemin’s expression. 

“What is it, Jaem?”

“Were you able to buy what we asked you to?” Jaemin may be annoyed, but he is still polite, however, he can’t help the hint of aggressiveness that seeped through his tone.

“Oh, shit. I forgot.”

Jaemin did not wait for the apology that is sure to come from Jeno. He rolls his eyes, scoffs, and storms out, a blurry of white and blue as he strides out of the audi, clutching his wallet to his chest, still trying to quell the anger seeping from his body. He still has not eaten, might as well buy some microwavable  _ giniling  _ from the convenience store and eat there, to cool off.

What started as eating aggressively and chewing while frowning relaxed into a peaceful chewing. He still sighs heavily through his nose, and the meal is still kind of icky as ever, but it quelled the hunger and the anger he is feeling. For sure, he knows, Jungwoo or Koeun or Donghyuck will reprimand him for his attitude for the day, and there is even no excuse for his behavior.

He knows that this is coming. He already knows the lecturing that he will receive. He is already disappointed at himself for acting that way. But when confronted by Jungwoo and reprimanded in a soft tone about his behavior towards the actors and Jeno, it broke something in him. He is just so tired. 

Jungwoo steers him clear from the rest of the staff and actors that are still there. “What has gotten into you, Jaemin? You must know that it is a common rule for us not to show that kind of attitude towards the actors. You’re intimidating them. And the way you behaved towards Jeno! He is also tired, Jaemin-ah. You can’t expect him to know all of the needs of the production staff. Give Jeno a bit of a breathing space. He comes here looking confused about what he did that caused you to react that way, and he apologized immediately to us.”

And Jaemin knows that, he just wasn’t able to control himself that day. Perhaps this is one of his off-days. He needs to recharge for a long while. The weekend is near. He’s staying here for the weekend, just inside his room and catch up on his acads.

The rehearsals ended on a sour note for Jaemin. He did not bid goodbye to anyone for that matter, aside from his co-SMs. He will apologize to Jeno tomorrow, his mind still stuffy with annoyance bubbling in his chest.

The next day, Jaemin is a little bit more cranky, sleeping at 2 am finishing up his part of the report due that day and waking up at 6 to prepare for his 7 am class. He skips breakfast, a newly formed habit upon entering college, choosing instead to bring his water bottle and maybe buy some snacks on the agronomy building, which is in front of the food science building.

His classes run until 1 pm, which is his last for the day. It also means that he is finally having his first meal of the day. He decides to check his phone, looking at messages from the other prod staff. Jungwoo sent a message on their gc, about what must be achieved for that day. Koeun asks for updates from the other committees. Jeno sends an apology.

Apology? He opens up his chatbox with Jeno, and there is the whole explanation of the why and what happened yesterday. Trust Jeno to do something like this. Jeno, his kind, forgiving, understanding best friend, understands why he acted the way he did. Jeno is really awesome.

He replies an apology back and explains his side. About how it really was not his fault, it was just, Jeno was the one Jaemin’s mind chose to blow up his annoyance with. And the smiley face that is Jeno’s signature smile in real life appeared as a reply from his best friend, and an “it’s okay, Jaem. We all have our off-days. Do you wanna eat in Wings Ave? I know you haven’t eaten yet.”

And even though Wings Ave. is on the other side of campus, he is still hungry and craves the eatery’s chicken parmesan; he still agrees to meet Jeno by the Raymundo gate and walk all the way there. Jeno is really awesome.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, hiiiii thank you for reading!! again i can't promise when the next update will be but i will finish this!!! i have so much more planned prompts on jaemren and i'm so excited to write those too! 
> 
> PS. Stream gimme gimme MV!!!!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I have the outline ready and all but well it's kinda hard to write everything yet due to life. I would just like to repeat that this is based on my experiences as a theater person in univ, and most of the story is entirely fictional. Thank you for reading until the end!!
> 
> Leave a comment below!!!!
> 
> come scream in my [cc](https://curiouscat.qa/MayReenRin)!!!!


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